


A Brief Courtship

by Lilbreck



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: F/M, Season/Series 02
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-08-09
Updated: 2010-08-09
Packaged: 2017-10-11 00:37:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/106308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilbreck/pseuds/Lilbreck
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Angelus spies and Willow researches.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Not Her Fantasy

**Author's Note:**

> This is dedicated to my lovely and vigilant beta, Gabrielle. Without her, I'd seem like an illiterate idiot. Originally started Aug. 31st 2006

He could see exhaustion in the slope of her shoulders and droop of her head, but there was still a maniacal energy present in her shifting eyes and scrambling fingers. He could see those same fingers worn to the bone from trying to claw her way out of wooden prison. For now, though, said fingers were only slightly stiff and sore from too many hours spent researching.

His ego was soothed somewhat knowing that he was the reason she had gotten so little rest. Her hours spent researching were all spent trying to find a way to retrieve the soul her best friend had unwittingly freed him of. However, if all went according to plan, Willow would soon have more important reasons not to sleep. He would still be behind those reasons, of course. He wouldn't have it any other way.

It was only fitting that she should devote so much time to him. After all, he had spent so much time studying her, even with his soul.

There were the covert glances from the corner of his eye when he was needed to help with the newest threat. Not to mention the long intense staring from the shadows that he was almost certain she could feel. He took in everything she was and everything she did. He took note of all that her friends didn't, was witness to all they didn't realize about her.

But he knew her, knew far more about her than she could have ever imagined. He could see her innocent academic dreams woven through the plaits in her hair, and her fantasies of chaste kisses revealed in every eager, longing glance sent towards her oblivious childhood friend. He could also see the things that weren't there, at least not yet.

He saw the flash of pale skin and yellow eyes, heard the low growl and the snapping teeth. He could almost smell the blood spill and hear cold laughter. Where there was grim determination as she sat at her computer following down countless dead ends, soon there would be ruthless, enthusiastic experiments in torture. She had endless potential and would do him proud, he was sure of it.

However, he was getting ahead of himself. First, he had to let his latest obsession know that she was his alone. He was not one to share with some mongrel pup that had barely cut its first tooth. He knew how to deal with competition. You either converted it, or destroyed it. His family did not need a puppy.


	2. New Dog, Old Tricks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angelus brings home a puppy and makes plans for the future.

Given how heightened the species' senses were, and how advantageous those senses could be, Angelus found it laughable how reluctant most werewolves were to use them. He was actually disappointed that this mongrel Willow fancied herself in love with was no exception.

Having followed Oz around for the better half of a night, he was beginning to wonder if the time it would take to torture him would be worth it. Closing in on his prey, he seriously considered just snapping the boy's neck. He appeared to be too dull to torture and, while animal sources were fine enough for a souled vamp, Angelus' tastes were a bit more discerning.

Considering all he'd been thinking, it was understandably surprising for him when Oz turned around with a stake in hand before the vampire could come within touching distance.

With a grin and slightly raised eyebrows, he couldn't help taunting, "Well, well, looks like the dog has a few tricks."

Instead of answering, Oz lunged at Angelus, forcing the other man to try to dodge the stake. Either due to the element of surprise, or dumb luck, Oz's move put Angelus off balance. Taking the opportunity Angelus' momentary distraction offered, Oz took off running as fast as he could. However, it wasn't a full moon night, and Oz was only a human without the strength the transformation would bring him. Angelus easily caught up to him and, wrapping his arm around the boy's neck, dragged him toward a black Desoto slowly coming upon them.

Throwing open the door and wearing a wide grin, Angelus began rethinking how useful this little mutt could be. Tossing his new guest into the back, the vampire settled into his seat and turned to the driver of his get-away vehicle.

"Dru, dear, how do you feel about teaching this little puppy to heel?"

The squeal of delight and clapping of hands he got in return were answer enough.

Barely ten minutes and three near-crashes later, they pulled up behind the mansion on Crawford Street. Yelling jovially for Spike as he and Dru dragged their captive down the stone steps leading into the garden, Angelus was nearly bouncing with maniacal glee. On the drive here, while she had been as cryptic as usual, his insane companion had provided some unexpected but very welcome news about Oz's role their very near future.

Appearing on the edge of anger, but trying to hide it, Spike rolled into the garden on his wheelchair, lighting a smoke as he came to a stop.

"What in hell has got you so chipper?" he asked without removing the cigarette from his lips.

Leaving Dru to take Oz into an unused bedroom and chain him up, Angelus rounded Spike's chair and, grabbing the handles, pushed him to the fireplace without answering.

"Tell me, bleach boy, do you remember when it was the four of us traveling around the world?"

Angelus could see in Spike's eyes that he recognized the tone in his voice. A century ago, this kind of conversation would have had Spike champing at the bit to hear what plan Angelus had come up with to entertain them. He could tell that their long separation and recent events had changed that, though. When Angelus then asked him, in what he thought was a conspiratorial tone, what he'd think of a new family member, the response was a bit more sarcastic than it would have been before.

"Is this the talk where you tell me how new vampires are made, daddy? I hate to tell ya, but you're a bit late for that."

Fighting down the urge to lash out at Spike for his tone, Angelus decided that perhaps it would be better if he just cut to the chase. Maybe then, his boy would start acting a little more amicably.

"Our girl Dru thinks that this werewolf could be the key to healing you up real fast. Since him being dead relatively quickly is also a part of my plan, I decided to let her keep him and figure out how he can help."

Instead of reacting with the joy and gratitude Angelus expected and knew he was entitled to, Spike merely raised one eyebrow and took a drag off is cigarette. Leaning back in his wheelchair and resting his clasped hands on his abdomen, he slowly exhaled the smoke. After pausing long enough to make Angelus wonder if he was actually planning to say anything, he only had one question.

"So, what's this got to do with having some new little vamp running around? You gonna try and turn the mutt?"

Leaning forward and snatching the smoke from Spike's mouth, Angelus took a drag and gave a wide and self-satisfied grin.

"Actually, I'm planning on turning the slayer's little red-headed sidekick. I thought she'd be some fun."


	3. With a Poisoned Pen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Willow gets a new pen pal.

Oz had been missing for one week when the full moon rose. The three nights that he should have been spending locked in a cage under the watchful eyes of his friends were instead spent goodness only knows where. The Scoobies had spent those three nights, and many following them, searching for any suspicious deaths, both animal and human. Willow wasn't sure if not finding any traces relieved her or made her worry all the more.

Two weeks after the last known sighting of him, and one week past his changing cycle, Willow walked into the school library, hoping to get an early start on researching their swim team fish problem. Carefully avoided in her mind was the fruitless search for Oz. Part of her almost wished that it were just a case of him skipping town. Unfortunately, given the particular town, that seemed the least likely scenario. Instead, when thoughts of his disappearance would surface, she focused instead on her secret research into re-ensouling a vampire.

That little project would be so much easier if she had help, but she couldn't risk going to anyone else. Xander would complain that she should be thinking of ways to kill him, and Giles would be quietly discouraging. While she knew Buffy would be glad to help, it would just break Willow's heart to have gotten her hopes up for nothing if they couldn't find a solution.

Still musing on secret projects and fish monsters, Willow didn't notice the envelope until she had sat down at the computer.

Cream colored and bearing her name in what was becoming an all too familiar scrawl, it seemed like a threat all in itself. Hands shaking, she opened the offending envelope, pulled out the folded parchment, and began to read.

It read like some sick and twisted version of a letter she would have gotten from her family. Full of morbid yet almost mundane anecdotes, it strangely fascinated her. When she started to read of Spike's recovery, a strange sense of foreboding came over her. It wasn't until the description of the ceremony used to heal Spike, though, that she truly understood the purpose of this letter.

There, in elegant handwriting, the fate of her boyfriend was spelled out for her. Fed a concoction of mystical herbs and strange liquids for the three days prior to his change, his blood was filled with power and magic. On the night of the full moon, while she had been staring with longing and worry at his empty cage, his blood was being drained to heal a broken vampire. It was made clear that the only reason he had originally been taken was because he was Willow's boyfriend.

A crippling mixture of grief and guilt flooded Willow, leaving her stunned, even as part of her mind tried to deny that her boyfriend was gone. The sound of the library doors swinging open made her slowly turn her head. As Giles came toward her, his greeting faltered and a look of growing concern settled on his face.

"Willow, is something the matter?"

When she opened her mouth to tell him, nothing would come out. Reduced to inarticulate whimpers, she held out Angelus' letter. Watching him read, it really began to sink in that she would never see Oz again. She could feel a scream begin to build inside her and work its way up her throat. The frantic thought raced through her mind that if she started to scream, she wouldn't be able to stop. Her breathing became quick and shallow, her body began to shake, and tears started streaming down her face. Hand clamped over her mouth, she bent nearly double in her chair trying to stop herself from giving voice to her overwhelming grief.

She was barely aware of Giles kneeling down in front of her, wrapping her tightly in his arms. When Buffy and Xander came in and started desperately asking what was going on, it seemed to Willow that she was hearing them from a great distance. She couldn't make herself move, let alone open her mouth to tell them about the vile letter she had received.

It was only after she found herself lying down in her own bed that she realized her friends had moved her. Looking toward the doors leading outside, she was shocked to find darkness beyond them. Part of her wanted just to walk out into that darkness, to see if she could find a way to join Oz tonight.

It wasn't a sudden urge to live that kept her in the bed, however. It was the shock of seeing movement through the blinds that stilled her. When a gentle tapping came, she found herself rising off the bed, vaguely registering that she had been changed into her nightshirt, and crossing to the doors. Peeking through the blinds, she was shocked to see Drusilla on the other side.

She couldn't say bravery, or even suicidal tendencies caused her to open the door. Honestly, she didn't even stop to remember it was a dangerous vampire that waited across her threshold. Later, she would tell her friends that the moment was so surreal, she must have thought it was a weird dream. That illusion was shattered when Dru leaned toward her with a mischievous glint in her eye.

Finger to lips, the vampire made a shushing sound and, in a stage whisper, confided in Willow, "Daddy said I wasn't to meet you until he brought you home."


	4. Anticipation of Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everybody's making plans.

It had been nearly a month since Willow received the letter from Angelus and the visit from Drusilla. A month, which had been filled with morbid gifts and sleepless nights. Even though she had slammed the door in Drusilla's face and hidden under her covers, her nightmares were filled with images of the vampire following her in and attacking her.

Added to that stress was the fact that she was no longer allowed to go anywhere alone. Even daytime solitary trips had been forbidden after a demon had strolled up to her in broad daylight bearing a gift from Angelus.

All this togetherness with her friends was fine, except it cut in on her research time. Far from dimming the urge to help Angel regain his soul, recent events had only spurred her on. So much so, in fact, that she had told Giles, Xander and Buffy what she was trying to do. While at first vehemently opposed to the idea, her resolve had convinced them to agree, albeit reluctantly, to help her.

It didn't escape her notice that suddenly Xander and Buffy always seemed to be in need of her tutoring. While they both needed help, she had the sneaking suspicion that it was a bid to keep her distracted from her research long enough for Angel to be just another vamp Buffy dusted.

Xander's motivation wasn't hard to figure out, but Buffy's puzzled her at first. It wasn't until she'd caught the look in Buffy's eye when Willow had received a drawing from Angelus that it became clear. As horrible as the situation was, Buffy was jealous of her. Angelus had traded in his obsession with Buffy for one with Willow. Twisted as it seemed, Willow could understand it. Angel's whole world had always seemed to be Buffy, and now, changed as he was, it was as if she had lost her boyfriend to her best friend.

She tried to push these revelations and the feelings they stirred up in her to the back of her mind as she tutored Buffy in the computer science classroom. Trying to be both encouraging and firm with her friend, she did her best to help her understand the chemistry homework. When Buffy picked up her pencil and then deliberately dropped it again, Willow figured she was trying a very poor stalling technique. However, when she came back up holding a yellow disk, Willow felt a bit guilty for thinking such a thing.

Curiosity and just a touch of excitement raced through her when she took the unlabeled disk from Buffy. Tamping down on those feelings, she popped it into her drive and tried to continue talking with her friend. It worked well enough so that she didn't realize what was appearing on the screen before her. When Buffy interrupted the beginnings of a ramble on Ms. Calender's dabbling to draw her attention back to the computer, she felt something she hadn't felt in over a month. Hope.

In the library a short time later, Xander, Giles and Cordy showed a bit less enthusiasm than the situation warranted. She could understand why Xander would be all for dusting Angel, but she was shocked that he didn't realize what it might do to Buffy. To be quite honest, the level of hostility he was showing stunned and worried her.

While Giles wasn't blatant in his opposition, she thought he was passively trying to stop them from cursing Angel again by claiming not to really have much knowledge of black arts. She had a sneaking suspicion that his history with dabbling as a teen more than qualified him. Luckily, she had studied up on Ms. Calender's files and researched what they hinted at. She was determined to bring this horrible situation to and end, with the best results for everyone concerned. She only hoped that Buffy was backing her in this.

Later that night, while Buffy was on patrol, and Willow was finishing her homework, Angelus, Drusilla and Spike were staring at a large rock and talking over history. Having lectured all those present with the history of the demon Acathla, Angelus ordered the tomb opened. Staring at the stone creature with a sword piercing its chest, he was seriously tempted to wake up Acathla and let him suck this whole miserable world into Hell.

Much to Drusilla's disappointment, he could tell, he told them it would have to wait. He had a girl to bring home to the family. Ignoring Spike's snickering and the questions Drusilla had about her 'sister', he headed to his room. For the first time, he felt a turning deserved a bit of ceremony.

Raiding Drusilla's closet, he came across a white dress he was sure he'd never seen her wear.

"This is perfect! A little candlelight, maybe some soft music… Set the mood, kill her, and then three days later, she rises and we send this world to Hell."


	5. The End of the Affair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Strange alliances and a curse revisited.

Willow had seen a lot of strange things since she'd started hanging out with Buffy. There were nightmares come to life, people inviting demons to posses them, and even mummies coming back to life and hitting on the boy she really liked. However, she never thought she'd see the day that Spike would be sitting across a library table from Buffy and talking about betraying Angelus.

What was really disturbing, though, were the plans he said Angelus was making. Not only was he planning to suck the world into Hell, which Kendra had come back to town to warn them about, but he was also planning a strange marriage/turning combo for her. Sitting at the end of the table, gripping Xander's hand tightly, she wasn't sure which she thought was worse. Then she had to fight down the guilt at thinking her being made a vampire was worse than the world being sucked into Hell.

When Buffy asked him why he was here, what would make him turn on Angelus and come to them, she found herself very interested.

"I told you. I want to stop Angel," he replied with a snicker. "I want to save the world."

Somehow, Willow had her doubts about the sincerity of his claim. However, when he went on about the things he loved about the world, and the people in it, it started to make a sick kind of sense. She still thought something was missing from his explanation, and when Buffy pushed him about why he would come to them, he provided the missing piece of the puzzle. The only thing that would drive him here: Drusilla.

Knowing that they had a deadline to meet, and that she was in immediate danger of being taken, only strengthened Willow's resolve to curse Angel again. When she said as much to the others, they all agreed that the sooner the spell was done, the better for all.

Arming Spike with a cell phone and sending him off with instructions to call if Angelus decided to move in, they started gathering everything they would need for Willow's big debut in spell casting. Fighting down nerves, Willow mentally went over everything she would need to do, finally giving in and voicing her steps aloud.

Willow climbed onto the table they'd set up for the ritual and tried to calm herself. Giles took his place to her right, reaching out and giving her hand a squeeze. To her left, Cordy stood, looking for all the world as if she was preparing to lead a cheer, not help curse a vampire. This, more than anything, seemed to help Willow calm down.

As Willow cast the stones and nodded to Giles, she could feel herself completely let go of her anxiety. As the ritual continued, and she seemed to become more removed from the world around her, she heard the ringing of the phone, followed by Buffy's yelling. Just as the doors to the library burst open, allowing Angelus, Drusilla, and a handful of vampires in, she felt something take over her body.

Though aware of the struggle all around her, Willow couldn't stop the words issuing forth from her, nor could she move her body. Watching as her friends fought to keep the vampires from stopping the spell, she could only pray that the curse would work. Her doubts grew less as her voice grew stronger, until she suddenly felt her head drop forward and she was face to face with Angelus. She could see the fear, anger and shock, all written clearly in his eyes. Then all traces of emotion in his eyes were hidden by a golden glow.

As suddenly as it came, the power left her. Slumping forward, she watched as Angel raised his head, weeping as he looked at her. Praying that it was the end, and trusting her friends to keep her safe, she slipped into unconsciousness.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

He's a great actor, and that's a very good thing. The moment Buffy, Giles or Xander begin to suspect that his thoughts even linger too long on their dear Willow, he's as good as dust. If they find out what he's doing now, he's not too sure Giles would be above a bit of torture. He seems the overprotective, unforgiving type.

He sneaks up to her window every night, just to watch her go through her normal routine. Although, in his mind's eye, it's not her room he sees. In his imagination, she's in his room, standing before his mirror, slipping on the little wisp of a nightgown he's picked out for her.

In his fantasy world, she didn't manage to curse him with a soul again. He got there in time, stole her away from her friends, and kept her locked away in his room, safe from everyone save him.

It's not his fantasy world, though, and she did curse him. If he were a better man, vampire, whatever, he could let go of this obsession. The trouble is, as guilty as he feels, he was never a good man. It doesn't help that she knows he watches her and doesn't say anything.

Every night, he prays to whatever god will listen to the pleas of a vampire that he never loses his soul again. The moment he does, he knows that there's nowhere Willow can hide from him. After all, she still needs to be punished for upsetting his plans.


End file.
